Salt Lake City, UT

I am in Salt Lake City today.  I did a little site seeing.  I visited the Capitol.  It is a very impressive building.

The visitors center across from the capitol.  It is the old city hall and has free all day parking.  I did not last long and came back to the hotel for the afternoon.  I have another long drive tomorrow to get to Denver.  Then home and I am really ready to get there.

Idaho, Thousand Springs Scenic Route

I dropped off of the freeway in Idaho and followed historic US 30 for about 45 miles.  This was one of the best drives of the trip.  This is a one lane bridge over the Snake River.  This part is where they have a series of hydro-electric generating plants.  I love the perfect mirror image.

Along one part of the drive there were numerous waterfalls going down to the Snake.

The day was hazy at Twin Falls.  This is where I left historic 30.  This is a view of the Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls.

The Arch Bridge over the Canyon at Twin Falls.

This is a view near where Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake.

Ketchikan, Alaska

It finally quit raining but not before the Captain sailed us into a Beaufort scale 11 winds (one step below Hurricane force winds) on the way and had to ship listing 10 degrees to the port side.  I did my own walking tour and then took the free bus around to some other sites.  This is Creek Street, the former red light district and now a street of small shops.  I found my Alaska shirt there. 

Sculpture at the harbor entrance.

Outside the Totem Heritage Center.  I got to this by the free bus.  There is a fee to go in and it is worth the price.  There is a fish hatchery across the creek from the center.  They release salmon into the creek and this was the only place I saw salmon.

These totems are inside the Center.  They were moved from their location and left in the condition they were found.  The center saves totems left in abandoned villages and others that are donated to the center.  The history of each totem is located in the display.  I also went to the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center where history of the area is on display.  That center is part of the US Forest Service and there is a fee but again with the Senior Pass I got in for free.

I had to add this one.  This is a sea plane port.  We passed it on the way out.  You can see the sea planes taking off anywhere along the bay.

Sitka, Alaska

It rained even harder in Sitka.  I went to the Russian Orthodox Church first.  This has been on my must see list since I took Russian History in college and learned about it and Sitka.  At that time the original church was still there.  That church burned in the 1980's and model of the original  has been built to replace it.    This is an icon from the original church.

Another Icon

A view of one of the alters in the background and of the candles people have purchased and lit.  The tall one is mine.  It is for world peace.

A view of the full church and the bishop's seat from the original church.  I also visited the Bishop's house.  It is the original structure and one of the few left from when Sitka was part of Russia.  The Russian Orthodox Church is still very much alive in Alaska, not because there are still Russian's but because the church did not try to stamp out the native way of life and the church because the choice of the native people.  I had too much time left to shop and now have a beautiful blue zircon and diamond ring.  The zircon is my birthstone and you seldom see it.  I went into Goldsmiths and they had a entire display featuring what they called Blue Zircon Arctic Ice so I had to try rings on and then found the perfect one.  I really did not go to Alaska to shop even though I did.

Juneau, Alaska

Russian Church.  I took my own walking tour and was disappointed when the church was not open.  It was raining for the entire time I walked.  The Land's End coat I purchased for the trip worked really well.  

I went to the Juneau city museum and then to the Alaska State Historical Museum.  Both have an entry charge.  I was glad I had been to the Juneau museum first and watched their video.  It provided a good background for the displays in the State Museum.  This is a photo from the entrance.  Both were worthwhile visits.

One of the exhibits in the State Museum.  All were very realistic.  I spend most of the morning on the walking tour.  I visited the state capitol but did not take any pictures.  I just did the tour.

Mendenhall Glacier - I took the $16.00 Shuttle up to the Glacier.  The driver gave a very good tour of some of the places of interest on the  way up to the Glacier.  There is a fee at the Tongass Mendenhall Glacier Center but because I had the Senior Pass I did not have to pay.  The day was still cloudy but the rain had stopped for a while so pictures are not that bright.  The Glacier was impressive.  This took most of the afternoon.  I still managed to get in some shopping even though I did not plan to.  As a result I now have a very nice diamond pendant.

Glacier and the water fall that comes in showing on the left.

Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier Alaska

This was the second day of the cruise and we sailed Tracy Arm to see the Sawyer Glacier.  It was raining and cloudy but we could still see the many waterfalls as we moved toward the glacier.

I love to see the reflections in the water and each of the small icebergs had perfect images  in the water.

This is a view of Sawyer Glacier.  We got a lot closer than any of us expected.  There was a lot of ice in front of the glacier.

Cutters Crabhouse - Fresh Market Seafood

Cutters has a van that will pick up at the hotel and bring downtown to their restaurant.  This is was my last night in Seattle and I wanted seafood.  This is me after the great scallops.  I ended the meal with a chocolate soufflé.  It was also great.  I am off on the cruise today.

Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

I drove east of Seattle today to see Snoqualmie Falls.  This is one of the most visited places in Washington.  Really pretty falls but at a low water level now.

There was a lot of construction around the falls.  You could only go to the top as they were redoing the route to the bottom of the falls.  You can see the construction in this picture.  It was a pretty drive out and I enjoyed getting out of the city.  Probably no more post until I get back from the Alaska cruise.  I leave tomorrow.

Pike Street Market, Seattle, WA

Pike Street Market is down near the waterfront.  I took the monorail to downtown and walked the rest of the way.  This is a really fun place to visit.

The man in the picture was doing tricks with his parrot.  The parrot is 16 years old and can live to 65.  He said they have been coming to the market for 16 years.  Unlike most people performing there was no tip container in site.

Inside there were stalls and stalls of gorgeous flowers.  I would love to have purchased some but what do you do with them in a hotel room?

All this sea food and no place to cook!  There were several other places like this one.  I got a picture of someone else taking a picture.

Bahn Thai is up the street from the hotel and where I ate Friday night.

Pioneer Square and Ferry

View in a small park in Pioneer Square.  I have been reading Kat Richardson's Greywalker series and she uses Pioneer Square in all of her books so I wanted to visit.

This is the sky line as the ferry left for Bremerton.  I took the monorail and the bus to Pioneer Square and walked from there to take the ferry.  It was a fun ride.

Me on the ferry.

Some of the houses along the shore of the islands we passed.

Anthony's in Bremerton.  I sat out here for lunch.  Both the view and the food were great.

Space Needle

View from Space Needle.  Everything I went to today was in the same area.  The Space Needle was a must stop and my last stop.

There is a sea plane landing in this picture.

You can see Mount Rainier through the haze.  It is very faint in the background.  I visited there when I was here last.  It is an active volcano and if it erupts Seattle is in trouble.  

 This group was playing outside the Space Needle.

Glass House and Chihuly Garden Exhibit

Display in the Glass House

This is the only piece that is not hand blown glass.  It is a molded plastic.

One of the garden displays.  They are tough enough to stand the weather outside.

Some are easy to see.

Some are really large.

And some are almost hidden.

There are a whole group hanging from the ceiling as you leave the display.

These two show up when you are outside the garden.

Inside the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit

"I want people to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced."  Dale Chihuly  Chihuly is the guiding genius behind each of these creations.  All of the glass is hand blown.    There is a theater which shows 30 minutes of short films about Chihuly.  I sat and watched every one.  

This is a ceiling made up of many glass pieces.    I almost did not go to this exhibit but decided to pay of the combination Space Needle and Chihuly Glass Exhibit.  I am very glad I did.  I spent more time in this exhibit than I did in King Tut.

This is a large room size piece.  

Another ceiling shot.

Small part of the room size piece.

Another part of the room size piece.

I had left the room with the glass ceiling when I looked back and noticed what it did to the wall so I came back for another shot.

Two boats filled with blown glass shapes.

One of the many chandeliers in one room.

Hand Blown glass bowls in another room.  The gift shop had small bowls for sale.    They ranged from $6000 to $8000.   I didn't buy one.